Igby Goes Down (2002)

Many movies strive to capture the confused, yearning spirit of The Graduate or The Catcher in the Rye; Igby Goes Down succeeds. Igby (Kieran Culkin) is a teen struggling to find any purpose or meaning to his life; surrounding him are his tyrant mother Mimi (Susan Sarandon), schizophrenic father Jason (Bill Pullman), wealthy and deceitful godfather D.H. (Jeff Goldblum), and cold brother Oliver (Ryan Phillippe)--all of whom have their own problems. While evading being sent to yet another boarding school, Igby seeks solace with two women: Rachel (Amanda Peet), a drug-addicted dancer who's D.H.'s mistress, and Sookie (Claire Danes), a college student who becomes perhaps his only friend. Culkin carries the film, ably supported by the superb cast; script, direction, and performances are razor sharp. Igby Goes Down doesn't let anyone--including Igby--off the hook for their cruelty, hypocrisy, or lack of empathy. --Bret Fetzer Amazon.com

A small work of genius

One of the most intelligent analyses of upper-middle class life I have ever seen - dark, funny, beautifully scripted, and above all TRUE. April 30, 2008

One of my favs.

I love this movie. I had it stolen and had to purchase it again because I was sad without it. October 25, 2007

Smart and funny

If this movie was not made as a dark comedy, it would definitely be a great film noir. Story about the upper class New York family full of its own skeletons in the closet. This disfynctional family consists of pill popping mom, schizophrenic father, opportunistic older brother and idealist main character Igby (his nickname that everyone seems to love) having difficult time to fit in. It is a story of absurd life and party of the rich New York crowd where money cannot buy happiness but it surely makes life so much easier. Middle aged man have enough to cover for the regular wife, ex-lover's child's private school, current kept woman's appartment and well being -- and run a successful business on top of it all. Women are shared and passed on between friends and lovers, and when they are not, they happily seek out men they can sleep with - if for no other reason then for the reason that they can because they are so hot. But of course, being that they are women and financially dependant, such escapades always have unhappy ending for all involved, particularly women themselves. Made in the style of "Royal Tannenbaum's" this is fun movie in a dark kind of way. October 23, 2007

Igby should've stayed down.

Igby Goes Down (Burr Steers, 2002)

Igby Goes Down, the first film for director Burr Steers (who has yet to make a second in the intervening five years, which should tell you something), commits the cardinal sin of being a comedy that's not funny. It wants to be funny, but never quite gets there. It has some arresting scenes and some relatively witty one-liners coupled with some excellent performances, but the movie never comes together; it just kind of sits there like a failed souffle.

Igby (Kieran Culkin) is a cynical kid from New York City who has a pretty hard time fitting in. His mother (Susan Sarandon) is a drugged-out harridan, his father (Bill Pullman) is insane, his mother's new boyfriend (Jeff Goldblum) is trying too hard to be his friend, and his brother (Ryan Phillippe) is, in Igby's words, a young republican. Then, at a party, he meets two older women, Rachel (Amanda Peet) and Sookie (Claire Danes), and oh, here comes the beginning of teen angst. Which one does he have more feelings for? Etc.

The performances, in short, carry the movie. The wonderful, and woefully underrated, Jared Harris (b. Monkey), as Rachel's roommate, steals every scene he's in. This is the first time I've seen Susan Sarandon in a movie where I haven't loathed her in twenty-five years. Goldblum gives his best performance since The Fly, and Phillippe finally shows that the praise justifiably heaped on him after Cruel Intentions wasn't all wasted. That Danes is excellent should surprise no one at this point. That leaves Pullman, who doesn't get enough screen time to make much of an impression, and Peet, who's just kind of there (which is surprising, she's normally quite good).

Unfortunately, those performances sit atop a rather large mound of nothing. The script has all the wit, verve, and style of a Perez Hilton special on VH1 (and for those of you who may be misinterpreting that metaphor, let me spell it out for you: I hate Perez Hilton with the burning heat of a thousand suns). The plot is nonexistent, but there's not enough coherence for the movie to be character-driven, even despite the fantastic performances. There's no pacing to speak of, nothing remarkable about the direction, camerawork, or sound, etc. It's not thoroughly awful, but it's definitely not one for repeat viewing. ** October 12, 2007

Listen to the critics--it sucks!!

Why another movie about a loser teen making bad choices and expecting sympathy?? He needs to grow up [since he likes adult sex partners], take responsibility for his life and move on! So you don't have a "perfect life" Igby--nobody does. Get over it!! January 23, 2007

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